Gotta Do This...Or Else

Sometimes life doesn't give you choices. There are some things that you have to do or else you'll just suffer the consequences that life chooses to throw at you. I'm dealing with one such situation right now. Weight loss. It started when I was much younger. I just remember struggling with weight issues all of my life. From as early as 8 years old, I remember my Mom kind of "reminding" me that I needed to watch what I eat or I'd be fat. People who knew me back then tell me now that I wasn't fat while I was growing up, but of course, I remember things quite differently. When I was 19 years old, I was in a car with three of my friends from college and we were in a minor traffic accident on the Mass Pike. That was the beginning of my back injuries. I had a herniated disk and pinched nerve. I was basically immobile for several weeks. My friends had to help me out of bed, help me to the bathroom, etc. It was horrible. And that pain went on for several weeks. It slowly got better with therapy and pain medications. Then, a few years later, another disk herniated. Then another. Then another. Then another. And then I herniated one of those disks a second time. Have I ever had surgery? No. When all of this was going on, I was told that surgery probably wouldn't help much and that I was really too young, anyway. I had lots of therapy, lots of pain medicines, shots and some other procedures that caused some other annoying problems. Finally, the doctor looked at me and said, "You need to lose weight." It was like being punched in the gut. But he was right. Dang it. He was right. After Caleb was born, I started having pain in my feet, on the bottom, close to the heel. I couldn't understand why I was having pain with that first step out of bed in the morning. So, I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Plantar Fascitis. I underwent wearing a boot on my left leg/foot for three weeks and then had to have two steroid injections. My left foot got better and I got inserts put into my shoes. Recently, the right foot started acting up and I almost immediately started wearing the boot again, almost full time. I'm hoping to avoid getting the shots in my right foot, especially since we don't have insurance right now. But it all goes back to the real problem. I'm overweight. There's no sense in trying to ignore it anymore. If I care about my body at all, I need to make these changes and make my body better. It's either that, or I will end up sitting on the sidelines at all the fun activities my family does because I can't move. Praise God...I know that I am healed. Healing is a process and it requires our compliance. I received healing for my back pain a few years ago. I received healing for my foot pain a week ago. But, I need to do my part in order to see that healing full manifested in my body. I'm beginning a weight loss journey that includes changing my eating habits and going swimming a few times a week. Swimming is about the only exercise I can do in my current physical state. I went for the first time on Saturday and it was wonderful. I'm still feeling the burn in my legs. I'll keep you updated on my progress but my goal is to lose 110 pounds. I need to break that into smaller segments I know. But that is my ultimate goal. I can do it. I have to. Or else.